Rat King's Revenge
by thx2God4U.S.A
Summary: The Rat King has returned and has a new plan to sever Splinter's bond with his humanity and his beloved sons permanently. What does he have in store for Master Splinter? Will Splinter ever recover the being he once was? How will the turtles deal with it? How will their allies come into play? Brotherly/ Father/Son Fluff.
1. Chapter 1

**Ya know what? There aren't nearly enough Rat King fan fictions out there, are there? Which sucks because he's my absolute favorite villain besides Shredder (of course) okay enjoy this first chapter as I show you my very first Rat King story**

 ** _I DO NOT OWN TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES!_**

Master Splinter was alone in the dojo meditating. The boys had just finished a hard day's training that ran very smoothly, which made him happy. All was calm until he felt a sudden head rush

"Ah" he grabbed his temples and cringed in pain as he opened his eyes. He stood up and peeked out of the dojo to see what the boys were doing. He reentered the dojo after the turtles apparently didn't see him

'What was I just doing?' he pondered to himself as he walked to his personal shelf. He gazed over the frame of his beloved wife and daughter. He frowned at the sudden memory of a certain enemy who tried to exploit his rodent side, and turn him away from whatever he had left of his humanity. The head rush occurred again as once again he forgot what was thinking

'Uhh.. what is wrong with me today?' he then recognized that feeling in his mind. He knew that feeling all too well "No.." he said out loud "Not you." his head started pounding and he felt a sudden massive pain that felt like a sword to his head

 **(MEANWHILE)**

Mikey sat upside in living room after a marathon of his favorite show. He sat up and saw that Leo and Raph were locked in a two-player arcade game. So he decided to peek in with Donnie on his latest project. He remembered that Rockwell was in there with him helping April practice her telepathic powers. He peeked in the door to see the three mutants talking with each other

"Do we really need these necklaces, Donnie?"April asked sounding bored

"I'm afraid so, April. Since you're half Kraang, there's no telling how dangerous they might be when having _complete_ control of their powers" Donnie explained while typing on his laptop

"Coool is that what you guys are working on?" asked Mikey as he walked into the lab

Donnie groaned in annoyance "What do you want, Mikey? We're kind of in the middle of something"

"I just wanted to see what you guys were working on" he tried to peek at the computer

"We're working on creating telepathy shields to protect ourselves from the Kraang's telepathic abilities." explained Rockwell "The more we learn about their mental tricks, the stronger defense we have against them."

"Ha ha which is why Rockwell and I have invented.. the T-shields!"

"Hey! Naming stuff's my thing!" Mikey said with an upset tone. Just then, Leo and Raph came in to the lab to see what was going on

"See, Leo? I told you we were missing the party" said Raph "New invention, Donnie?" asked Leo

"Well sort of. It's just a prototype but if it works, the wearer will be completely immunity from any kind of mental or telepathic tricks.

"We created it by studying the mutated DNA from April and myself." added Rockwell

"We've never really had to deal to telepathy before, Donnie. Do you really think we'll need it?" asked Leo

"Well, probably not. But there's still certain elements of the Kraang that we don't understand, and this can help us learn more about them."

"So how do we know if it works." asked April

"That's the thing," replied Donnie "All we need to do now is test it." Just then the group heard a gruesome scream

 **"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"**

"Sensei?" asked Leo as everyone ran to the sound of the scream. When they entered the dojo, Splinter was back first on the floor with his hands on his head and convulsing

"SENSEI!" the turtles ran over to Splinter to help

"Sensei? Sensei! What's wrong, what does it hurt?!" Donnie was in a panicked doctor mode trying to figure out what's wrong with his sensei

"(pant) (pant) (AAHHH) The Rat... Rat King (AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH)"

"WHAT!?" the turtles were shocked that the dreaded Rat King was still alive

"Oh no!" gasped April

"DONNIE, WHAT DO WE DO!?" Raph shouted over Splinter's screaming

"I...I DON'T KNOW! I CAN'T THINK!" Donnie was greatly starting to panic

"Donatello, the T-Shield! It maybe his only hope!" Rockwell tossed Donnie the necklace

"DID YOU EVEN TEST THAT THING!?" shouted Leo

"NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT!" Donnie responded. Mikey tried to sit Splinter up and he was still rapidly kicking and convulsing his entire body. Donnie quickly wrapped the T-shield around Splinter's neck. In a millisecond, Splinter stopped screaming and pasted out in Mikey's arm as he laid his father down. Everyone just stared at each other in a horrified expression

"Umm... what just happened?" Mikey asked in a blown away sort of tone

"You can't be serious. The Rat King's back?!" exclaimed Leo

"(growl) What does it take to kill this guy?!" ranted Raph. Rockwell just got an angry expression on his face as he almost began to take deep breaths of rage.

"Rockwell... are you alright?" April put a hand on his shoulder

"Falco" he growled

"What?" she asked as everyone looked up at him then she gasped in realization "Oh my gosh, that's right!"

"What?" asked Raph

"Don't you guys remember?"

"It was Victor Falco who mutated me into this ... pre evolved beast." he looked at his hands

"Oh right, I remember that! He tried to used your blood to give himself physic powers.." said Donnie

"...and ended up becoming the Rat King" finished Leo

"Precisely. My friends, I will do anything it takes to help you defeat this monster and save your Master!" he said with a vengeful voice

"Calm down, Rockwell." said April "The first thing we to do is figure out what the heck...(points to Splinter) that was."

"I know." said Mikey sadly "What do you think he did to him?"

"We'll have to until he wakes up to find out." Donnie placed a hand on his father's head "but that didn't look like anything that the Rat King's done before" Suddenly Splinter groaned in pain as he began to wake up.

"He's waking up." Raph said with excitement

"Shhh..." Leo silenced as everyone backed up to give him some space as he sat up. He opened his eyes and looked down at his hands. As he studied his four-fingered paw and began to breathe heavily. Leo called to him lightly

"Sensei, are you alright?" Leo approached him slowly and gently. Splinter looked and saw the turtles, Rockwell and April.

"Ah! Ahhh! Keep away from me!" he backed up against the wall hyperventilating

"Whoa! Sensei what's wrong?" Leo backed away "It's alright, it's us, your-"

"I-I have four fingers! What happened? Why do I only have four fingers!? Where's my other finger!? " he was speaking too fast to understand

"Wait what?" Ralph, along with everyone else, was really confused

"Master Splinter, you've always-" Splinter stopped Donnie's sentence and just blurted out questions at a mile on minutes

"Who are you, what are you, where am I, who am I, why can't I remember anything!?"

 **DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNNNNN**

 **And that was the first chapter of my new Ninja Turtles story. hope it's good so far. Something I want to note is the Mighty Mutanimals _will_ show up later, and not the Kraang. I know it's confusing but I needed a reason for turtles to have a telepathy shield to guard Splinter from the Rat King. Now I'm not gonna focus on characterizing Splinter since he has no memory on who he is. Okay hope this was interesting please leave a review happy thanksgiving see you guys next time with chapter 5 of "Alternatively" God bless**

 ** _I DO NOT OWN TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES!_**


	2. The Plan

**Sorry this took so long, lots of project and I'm in a play at school, easily the worst week of my freshmen year so far at least it's almost Christmas :). Enough talk let's begin.**

 _ **I DO NOT OWN TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLE!**_

Everyone just stared at the terrified rodent with wide eyes and blinked at how fast everything was going.

"Oh my..." gasped Rockwell

"Guys.. I think he's got amnesia" whispered Leo

"Well what are we supposed to do?" asked Raph bluntly

"April, he's scared of us" whispered Donnie "you need to calm him down. He'll listen to you"

"Me? but-"

"Please, A, just try it." whispered Mikey as he lightly pushed her over. She cautiously walked over the hyperventilating rodent. She then calmly got on her knees and calmly took his hands away from his face.

"Hey... don't be afraid.." she have him a caring smile "We're not gonna hurt you.. it's okay" her slow talking helped Splinter to calm down, but only a little

"I'm.. I'm sorry" he breathed heavily "I was scared."

"It's fine, we understand. Now start over slowly... what's wrong?"

"(pant, pant) (sigh) alright. What happened to me?" he looked over his four-fingered hands. Apparently,he even forgot he was a mutant "Why don't I remember anything?" April turned around with the turtles and Rockwell still in shock about all of this

April spoke up "You um..."

"You hit your head" Leo interrupted her "you fell off a small ledge and landed on your head."

"(groan) that would explain this headache. Wait.. who or what are you.. turtles and ape?"

"I um.." Donnie felt awkward "I know this'll sound weird but-"

"We're your family" Mikey spoke up

"What?"

"Uh um yeah we're your adopted sons." Leo explained finally processing what was going on"Your name is Splinter, and I'm the oldest of us, Leonardo and this is Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo. And these our friends April and Dr. Rockwell." he gestured to everyone as he spoke while Splinter tried to pay close attention to their names

"You know what? This is probably a lot for to take in. Would you like to leave you alone to clear your thoughts?" Rockwell asked with a doctor-like voice

"I..I supposed that could help. Is this my room?" he referred to the dojo

"Yeah" said Raph with a surprising gentle voice" Just try to relax."

"We'll be right outside if you need us. Call us if you need anything" said Mikey as they all walked out of the dojo

"I will" he said to this young stranger he felt like he should know, but just didn't. The boys and April walked into the living room and just stood there

Raph just smiled "(calmly) now.. WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON!?"

"Raph, calm down. We don't wanna scare Sensei anymore than he already is." urged Leo

"It's like Leo said, the Rat King must have used his powers to erase Splinter's memory." Donnie analyzed out loud

"but what good would Sensei be to him with an empty head?" pondered April

"...Maybe he wants to trick Splinter into working with him." Mikey said thoughtlessly. Everyone went wide eyed the horrifying idea Mikey just gave them

"Oh my gosh.. Mikey's right." Donnie realized

"The Rat King's planning to erase your Sensei's memory and replace them with fake ones to convert him into his willing servant." said Rockwell "He wouldn't even have to resort to mind control if he accomplishes this"

"I get it. The T-shield must have stopped him before he managed to change anything" said Leo

"But obviously not before he erased everything" added Donnie

"But how do we know that the Rat King didn't change anything?" asked the second oldest turtle

"The first time we fought the Rat King Splinter attacked me" stated April "if he did create new memories I'm sure Master Splinter would've turned on us by now"

"So that's good at least we know the T-shields work" smiled Mikey

"Yes. However, we still have a I would like to point out is that when amnesia's caused by telepathy, the only way one can be cured it is by another telepath to enter their mind find and the lost memories." explained Rockwell

"What do you mean?" asked Leo

"You see no memory can be fully erased from our minds. The Rat King can't take the memories out to Splinter's mind, all he could do was remove them from their proper places so that he would forget them. He's essentially disrupted the process of memories and forgetting them, which is how general amnesia usually works." the primate genius explained

"Where are you going with this, Doc?" asked the purple masked turtle

"Only April and I have the power to restore his memories but we can't do that with the telepathy shield over his mind" "And if we take it off we're pretty much gift wrapping Sensei and handing him over to the Rat King." stated Raph

"So what are we gonna do?" April struggled her shoulders "We can't just leave him in there with an empty head" she gestured towards the dojo

"We're not going to" Leo went into leader mode "Alright guys, here's the plan; Rockwell, call the rest of the Mutanimals. April, call Casey." he ordered. They both nodded and walked off to call their teammates. "Mikey you'll stay with Splinter"

"You want to leave a guy with amnesia... alone with Mikey?" asked Raph with an 'are you that stupid?' tone. The blue masked leader went wide-eyed that idea (points to Donnie) "... Donnie you'll stay with Splinter"

"Hey!" Mikey wined

Leo ignored it and continued explaining his plan "You'll stay here along with April and Rockwell and try to jog his memory a little bit. The rest of us including Casey and the other Mutanimals will go after the Rat King to finish him once and for all. Once he's down we'll call ahead to give you guys a head's up to deactivate the T-shield leave to the rest to Rockwell and April."

"But wait, Rockwell said we can't restore his memory without telepathy" Donnie was confused

"I know but just try to make him feel safe until we can use telepathy." stated Leo "and whatever you do, don't mention the Rat King."

"Why?" asked Mikey tilting his head

"He's already freaked out as it is. What we supposed to tell him 'there's a mind reading stalker who wants to enslave you by giving you fake memories?" Leo replied

"Is that why you told him he hit his head?" asked Raph "Yeah, he doesn't need to know about the Rat King, got it Don?"

"Got it." Just then April and Rockwell walked back over to the couch where the turtles were sitting

"OK said that they would meet you halfway there in the sewer line under Rye boulevard" said Rockwell

"Same with Casey." said April

"Okay, you two heard the plan, right?" asked Leo

"Yep, stay here and guard Splinter." the red head nodded. The turtles noticed Rockwell looking away seemingly upset

"Something wrong, Doc?" asked Mikey

"..(sigh)" he hesitated "I would much prefer to come with you to fight off Falco, I'd like give that pre-evolved traitor a piece of my mind" he made an angry fist

"I understand, Rockwell." Leo said calmly "but April's only now learning to control her psychic powers. We need you here more than ever."

"Let us handle the Rat King" Raph stood up from sitting "We'll hit him extra hard for ya"

Rockwell thought about this and sighed "very well I will put my vendetta aside to help your master, but do make sure he's gone once and for all" he smiled

Leo gave him a thumbs up "We will. Alright turtles, let's move" Leo led the way as the A team followed him. Leaving the B team alone to take care of Master Splinter

 **TO BE CONTINUED**

 **Ok I know amnesia probably doesn't work the way I explained it but just roll with it and I'll give you a good story. Also about the memories, just think of the ones from Inside Out. I love that movie. Alright please leave a review, see you guys next with chapter 6 of** **Alternatively, God bless**

 _ **I DO NOT OWN TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES**_


	3. Meeting

**Well it's good to be back hope this is a good chapter because I've got a big plan for this story. Remember I'm not gonna focus on characterizing Splinter for...reasons. Enjoy OH! Almost forgot! Side note**

 **A team; Leo, Raph, Mikey, Casey, Slash Leatherhead and Pidgin Pete**

 **B team; Donnie, April, and Rockwell**

 ** _I DO NOT OWN TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLE_!**

With Leo, Raph, and Mikey meeting with the rest of the A team to battle the Rat King, that left the B-team in charge of watching Splinter until given the que to remove the t-shield from his neck. Immediately after the A-team left, the B-team cautiously walked back into the dojo and saw that he was staring at the picture frame of an asian man, woman and a young baby who couldn't be anymore than one year old.

"Um.. Splinter?" Donnie called out with a shaky voice. This startled him as he almost dropped the frame

"Oh, I-I'm sorry. Am I not supposed to touch this?" he asked nervously as he handed Donnie the old wooded frame

"No no it's fine." Donnie insisted as he walked over his poor confused father "You need to look around this place and observe it closely. That'll help jog your memory." he said calmly "Here have some tea, you used to like this." the odd purple masked reptile handed the anxious rodent a warm cup of jasmine tea

"Thank you. (sips the tea) Wait.. weren't there three more of you?" he questioned

"Oh yeah those were my brothers."

"They went to find...(thinks about what to say) a unique kind of medicine to help restore your memories. We're gonna stay here with you in the mean time to keep you safe and answer any questions you may have for us." April finished his sentence

"Really. Oh thank you, can I really ask you anything?"

"Of course" said Rockwell as he laid some soft meditation mat "Why don't we sit down? We'll begin the questioning." Splinter just complied as every sat down in a circle in the middle of room

"Ok, Splinter," Donnie started "if we're gonna talk, I need to know.. how much exactly do you memory?" asked Donnie

Splinter just looked at his hands and long, pink tail "When I woke up, I was shocked by my appearance. I guess that means I _might_ remember being a human at some point. So what happened? How am I like this, and how did I come to have... turtles as children?"

Donnie was a little sad but understanding at how off put Splinter was by the concept of loving such strange creatures. The one being who saw him and his brothers for who they truly were and he was essentially gone. He picked up the frame from right next to his side on the floor. "Well (looks at the photo) it actually starts with this man in the picture.."

 **(MEANWHILE IN THE SEWERS)**

Leo, Raph, and Mikey stood in the Rye Avenue sewers waiting for the rest of their A-team. Which didn't take long as Casey Jones and the rest of the Mutanimals arrived from separate paths.

"Yo guys we're here!" yelled the vigilante. When Mikey saw the gentle giant alligator, he smiled with glee

"Leatherhead!" he ran over to him and hugged him lovingly

"Ha, ha. It's good to see again, Michelangelo" he smiled and gently hugged him back

"Ha Hey Slash, what's up, man?" Raph fist bumped his former pet

"Nothing much, Brother" said Slash with a smile "Wish we didn't have to meet at a time like this."

"Agreed" Leo said with a straight face "You got Rockwell's call?"

"Wouldn't be here if we didn't. So fill us in on the mission again,"

"It's the Rat King." stated Raph "He gave Splinter amnesia and plans to convince him that he's his willing servant. He's gonna completely rearrange his brain"

"What?!" exclaimed Pete. "Oh my gosh, that's horrible!"

"Calm down, Pete." soothed Slash "It'll be alright"

"great..." mumbled Casey "more giant rats..." he suttered in fear

"Is Splinter alright?" asked Leatherhead as his small friend released him from their warm friendly hug.

"Well that was the bad news. The good news is that while he does have amnesia, it doesn't seem he has any _fake_ memories so we stopped him in time."

"Ahhh I see Donnie and Rockwell got that telepathy shield working" the hulking turtle put two and two together

"Exactly" said Leo " Speaking of which, those two and April are back at the lair guarding Sensei."

"Okay, so what do you need us for?" asked Pete

"The Rat King has a massive army of rats, including some crazy giant ones all under his control." explained Raph

"Yeah and we need you guy to help us fight him." added Mikey

"I'd hate to admit this, but we _have_ to kill this guy for the safety of the city and Master Splinter" Leo lowered his head regretfully

"I know it hurts, Leonardo, but we must do what we have protect this city." said Leatherhead putting a caring hand on his shoulder. The blue turtle sighed and nodded in understanding

"So are we gonna do this or what?" Casey asked pulling out his hockey stick

"Right" Raph pulled out his sais "Let's nail this creep into the wall!"

"For Splinter!" yelled Pete

"Alright team let's head out!" ordered Slash as he ran ahead with everyone following him. However, unbeknownst to them was a tiny rat with glowing red eyes spying on them from the shadows

 **(RAT KING'S LAIR)**

The rat spying on them was being used as the Rat King's eyes and ears, he heard everything that the misfit team of Mutants plus Casey discussed

He stood up from his thorn and paced the floor "Ahhhh so what's been separating me from my minion. My old partner has allied himself with my old foes. No matter (pets one of his giant rats) this is merely a hiccup in my plans for Splinter." he was interrupted by one of the rats squeaking "(pets it) There, there, Aristotle. I know you would to have your brother returned to you, and I promise that you shall soon have your wish. This..telepathy shield is a minor setback, but when the time is right, I shall have Splinter in my grasp, he shall learn his place in this world and we shall rule this world for our rat brethren! AH HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAA!"

 **(TO BE CONTINUED)**

 **Hope this was good please review see you next time with Monkey Team God bless**


	4. Chapter 4

**And were back. Sorry I've been holding off one. It's not one of my more popular stories and I have had insane writer's block with this and 'When 2 Extremes Meet', check that story out if u want. but yeah, my '1 story at a time' vow isn't really working out so I'll just have to write them as they come, but unless it's a really short one-shot like Hyper Universe or Hiccups, then I'll try not to start any new stories. Anyway, I hope this chapter is okay please read, review and enjoy.**

 _ **I DO NOT OWN TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES!**_

"and you named the four of us after some of your favorite Renaissance artists." Donnie finished the story of how he and his family were mutated into what they were today. Master Splinter looked up from the picture of his old family. It was the first time he looked the strange human turtle hybrid in the face since he began to tell him this bizarre and tragic tale of 'his' past life.

"So... I _was_ originally a human being?" he asked in minor distress as he rubbed one hand on his long, furry face.

"Mmm hmm," the purple masked turtle nodded " and ever since that day, you've been raising us as your sons and students. That's why we call you _Sensei_ , which means 'teacher'. You've been training us in everything you learned throughout your entire life in Japan" he added "and over the years we've made allies with a few humans like April, or other mutated creatures like Dr. Rockwell" he gesture to each of them as both of them were quiet while Donnie told the forgetful rat about their origins

He wanted to get that last statement straight "but we _do_ have to remain hidden from most of the human world, with a few exceptions like..." he paused to remember the young red head's name "... Avery?" he guessed in embarrassment.

"It's April." she corrected politely and then smiled "but hey. That was really close" she encouraged him "it seems like you're understanding everything for the most part."

"(sigh) I don't know." he stared sadly down at his four fingered hands "I feel like I can't even remember what was said to me in the past minute. How am I supposed to remember the events of my entire _life_? Especially with such a complicated past?" he pondered out loud in sorrow

"You need not be so hard yourself, Splinter" Rockwell entered the discussion at last "we're more than able to help with-"

"You don't understand!" he exclaimed standing up "I've barely been able to process anything to you've told me." he began to rank as he started to pace around to think. "I want to remember my past. I want to believe you about my dead wife and child, I want to remember these- these _mutants_ as my children but I can't! I'm sorry but I just can't!" he gave out and quickly kneeled down into a ball and took deep, fast breaths trying to not to shed a few tears as he hid his face in his chest

Donnie and April stared at each other. April was in shock and Donnie expressed sorrow and fear. He wanted his Sensei back and he wished his brothers where there to help him take care of Splinter. As Rockwell put a caring hand on his shoulder, the young female stood Donnie up gently and motioned him to console Splinter. The green genius just sniffed and nodded at her. Splinter was always strong for them in their distress, and now Donnie had to return the favor

"Hey," he kneeled down to Splinter and picked his head up "Hey don't- don't cry." he tried to sound calm but his voice ended up squeaking a bit "It's alright, Master Splinter. Nobody is expecting you to comprehend anything right away." he said gently as he massaged Splinter's hands like how he used to when the turtles were younger. "You were the wisest, most mature person in my life. In our lives. You were the best Sensei and father anyone could ask for, and you still are. You were just attac- I-I mean hurt, this could happen to anybody." he took a deep breath as he almost couldn't continue

"(Hiccup) and-and I promise you, your sons, my brothers, are helping you with every.. fiber... of... our... _being_. We'd go to the ends of the galaxy for you, just like you did for us."

Splinter stared with wide, reassured eyes as Donnie was ready to give out "Please see this, Splinter." he said with tears in his eyes and pain in his voice "I don't care if you ever get your memory back. You'll still be our Sensei, you'll still be Hamato Yoshi... You'll..." Donnie paused as Splinter leaned in out of concern "You'll still have me to love you!" Donatello couldn't fight his emotions anymore. He hugged Splinter and lightly cried into his shoulder. He felt awful that even in Splinter's condition, he was _still_ pleading for his sensei to comfort him. He couldn't help it. He was scared this memory loss would permanent and that the Master Splinter he, that _they_ knew and loved had beed stripped away from them forever.

Splinter just stared at the young, strange turtle for a moment in confusion, then had this strange instant in console him and ease his pain. He didn't now why, but he felt something for this intelligent creature. Just as the odd British ape to pulled Donnie off of Splinter, the old rodent stopped silently by holding up one hand. Then, still with wide eyes, he awkwardly hugged the young turtle and rubbed his back softly

"Young one," he whispered since he forgot the crying turtle's name "Please, calm down. I'm so sorry for all of this trouble?"

"Trouble?" Donnie pulled away "(sniff) What trouble?"

"Those other... boys having to leave, young folks like yourselves having to watch over an old man," he looked down at his hands again "the fact that I've been calling 'mutants'"

"No no no, Splinter, it is no trouble at all" Donnie quickly reassured him

"We understand you being so weirded out us," April interrupted after getting tired of just standing around and watching these heartbreaking events go on. "Believe me, it took me a while to warm up to the turtles too" she kneeled down next to them

"(sigh) Perhaps, but I can't explain it." he said eerily looking at Donatello "I felt an urge to comfort you, but I don't know why. I feel that I _should_ care about you, but I don't even _know_ you. I'm trying to understand you, but I'm not entirely sure why I should..."

 **(TO BE CONTINUED)**

 **Yeah sorry about this one. I figured let this chapter focus more on character than plot, so next chapter'll only focus on the A team, I promise. Tell me how I did with characterization aside from Splinter for...reasons. Also check out my profile and see a bunch of shows I like/love and if u have a request and hold onto it in case it breaks my writer's block (My personal favorite favorite story by myself Alternatively** **was a request from the super awesome** _ **NightofStarClan**_ **so check out her stories as well** ) **okay leave an honest review, Please check out my profile, tell me what you think, I'll see you guys next time, God Bless**

 _ **I DO NOT OWN TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES!**_


	5. The Battle Part 1

**Wow did I lose track of these stories. Long story short , I had a lot of writer's block with this story, even while writing this and it really shows when you read this. Don't hold back with the comments, this is not one of my better stories, but I hope it's worth the wait**

 ** _I DO NOT OWN TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES_**

The team of seven approached the lair of Rat King, and stopped at a small distance to catch their breaths. Right before they entered his lair, the turtles, Slash and Casey pulled out their weapons, Leatherhead unleashed his claws, and Pete sharpened his talons on the ground

"You guys ready for this?" the hulking turtle asked standing behind them but kept a sinister tone "There's no turning back until he's down." as odd as the questions was, he was nervous for the three brothers. He knew all of them, especially Raphael, that family or not, their reaction to their kills would be extremely unpredictable. How would this affect them in the future? What toll would such a drastic deed take upon their young spirits? They were all about to learn the answer

"Let's just get this over with." Leo replied coldly without facing him. He didn't want to murder anyone, neither did any of his brothers, but their father was at risk. What chose did they have?

"We're with you every step of the way, dudes." Casey said coldly as he walked up to the three of them

The second oldest reptile growled impatience and held one sai to his chest "Are we gonna do this or what?" he wasn't ready to kill anyone, the angry turtle was merely anxious to get his Sensei back

"Hmm" Leo exhaled and led the pack "Alright, team, remember your positions. Let's move!" with that, the A team stealthily made their way into the "unsuspecting" Rat King's lair, and split up get into their assigned position. There was the dreaded Rat King sitting in his throne. To the naked eye, the mysterious monster appeared to be sleeping, and there were no signs of any of his rat minions. Surrounding him from a distance, the three turtles pulled out their bow and arrows, Pigeon Pete pulled his egg bombs that Rockwell invented especially him, and Casey pulled out his hockey stick and pucks with TNT tapped top of them. Slash and LH were perched high above them waiting for their signal to jump the villain or his giant, mutated rats.

Suddenly, Slash had cautious realization "Hey, Big Guy." the leader of the Mutanimals called his second in command "Doesn't this seem a bit too easy?" he quietly called. Just before LH could think about this, they both could hear, the blue masked turtles giving his orders

"Alright, team. On my mark." the blue clad turtle quietly announced as the rest of team took aim "Aim..." Leo targeted his wrinkly, dead, beaty eyed face "Fire!" all the weapons were launched at once. Everything appeared to hit the target with full, piercing power. After the small explosion, everyone stared in awe at the remains of the Rat King. Just to confirm it, Raphael, Casey, and Pete leaped down from their hiding places to examine to remains while the other waited frozen in suspense where they stood

"Is he...?" Pete asked in shocked

Raph and Casey kneeled down together and they both noticed something very odd about the remains

"Wait, shouldn't that freaky rat dude be spewing blood right now?" the vigilante looked to Raph in confusion

The green eyed ninja looked even closer and had a terrifying realization. _Straw._ Raph slowly stood up in fear "Nooo, Casey, .. he shouldn't be spewing blood because IT'S A FAKE! RUN!" he warned them. However, before anyone could react, a hidden net unleashed itself, trapping the two mutants and human.

"RAPH!" shouted Michelangelo

"Wait, WHAT?!" Leo panicked in shocked. Just then, a pair of chained launched out of the shadows, chaining the panicked leader to the wall. Mikey prepared his nunchucks for defense and turned only to be knocked down by flying ropes and tied him up and electrocuted him.

"MY FRIENDS!" LH exclaimed with surprised

"I knew it!" said Slash as he pulled out his mace ready to bash some heads. They jumped off the ledge to come to their allies' aid, when all of a sudden, ten giant rats sprung out of nowhere, dog piling on the two giant reptiles.

"Slash!" shouted Raph as he tried to rip open the net but dropped his weapons

"Leatherhead!" Mikey exclaimed as he struggled to break free of the ropes that restrained him. Just then, the trapped team of misfits heard a sinister, bone-chilling laugh echo throughout the concrete walls of the dark, menacing sewer lair

"Did you meddling freak honestly think hunting _me_ down would be such child's play? I am the Rat King! Ruler of these sewers and soon enough-"

"The world. We get it, we've heard it a million times." Mikey interrupted him sounding bored and annoyed

The boastful telepath smirked and stepped over the orange masked turtle "Go ahead and just blabbering, dear Michelangelo." he said stroking his freckled, enraged Mikey "I'm quite interested in hearing your final words before you're destroyed"

"Hold on" grunted Leo "How did you know we were coming"

"Ha ha ha ha... you fools." he turned chuckled turning to the katana- wielding warrior "Did you truly believe you were safe from me in my own kingdom?" he kneeled down and allowed one of his rat subject climb onto his gray, bony palm "Anywhere my rodent brethren roam the shadows, I can see and hear your every move. There is no place you can hide from the true ruler of this earth. My dear, friend, Splinter, was originally my eyes and ears to you pests, but for some _odd_ reason, we started having... communication issues" he explained menacingly as he paced the floor to make eye contact with all of his hostages "Donatello and Rockwell's work I presume?" he mocked particularly Leo

"Don't you dare talk about our Sensei that way!" shouted Leo as he pulled on his chains with all his strength, but couldn't shatter them

"Yeah! You're gonna pay for what you did Master Splinter!" added Raph with sheer anger yanking on the net, unaware that Pigeon Pete and Casey Jones were already planning their escape in secret

"Did what? All I've done was strip him of his tragic and painful memories while he was one of those miserable humans" he began with a mellow dramatic act to mock them "Then, I would paint a much more delightful world of memories over that empty canvas."

"A world where he's your right hand man in a city enslaved with humans" Slash recited bitterly

"Precisely, my hulking behemoth. I'm afraid, however, that you left one important detail" he grinned

Quickly before anyone could respond, the molting bird mutant poked Raphael to gain his attention as the red masked turtle turned to him in confusion " _Psst_. raphie, keep that bozo talking" he whispered

"we've got plan to get outta here" added the black haired hockey player The hot headed reptile was in no position to ask questions, so he nodded and proceeded to 'keep the bozo talking'

"Oh yeah? And what exactly is this important detail, Fur Brain?" he asked pretending to mock the Rat King. Strangely, he found it much harder to pretend to insult someone than when he actually meant it.

"The extraction of four pathetic turtles and their friends" he replied walking back to Mikey for some odd reason "I was planning on making Splinter forget you so he could see his true destiny, but I now understand that if I want Splinter by my side, I must depose of his mutated trash myself!" he exclaimed grabbing Mikey's rope and dragged his body across the floor

"What are you doing!?" LH grunted in fear

"Some of my smaller disciples haven't eaten in quite some time. He may not be cheese, but they shall certainly eat hardy tonight. Once you and rest of your friends are out of my way, Splinter shall be mine to command forever, HA HA HA HA HA!"

"AAAHHHHH! GUYS, HELP ME!" the youngest turtle screamed and struggled in panic

"NO!" Leo shouted in fear "MIKEY!" Raph shouted in panic

"NO!" LH exclaimed as he tried to muscle his way out of the giant rat pile but failed "PUT HIM DOWN, FALCO!" he threatened with a growl as his eyes

"casey, pete, if you're gonna do something, do it now" Raph whispered crunching his teeth together in rage

"hold on, dude" replied Casey as he pulled out his hand band to reveal that he'd tied it into a slingshot.

"ready, jones?" whispered Pete as he held up a strange black painted egg

"hit me." was all he said. Then he stretched his bandana out as far as he could and the human-bird hybrid tucked the egg into the slingshot. With his tongue out, and one eye closed he aimed his slingshot at the target and mumbled ever so lightly yet deadpan "goonala" He fired the egg bomb at the rat pile that restrained Leatherhead.

Once the bomb exploded, the Rat King stopped in his tracks. He turned to see that half of the mutated rats were startled and fled allowing the angry alligator to escape. He roared in utter rage as he unintentionally released Slash and the Mutanimals' leader quickly ripped open the net holding Raph, Casey and Pete. In a haste, the Rat King pulled on Michelangelo's rope and flung him down in the pit filled with carnivorous, starving rats. Mikey screamed in terror and closed his eyes, assuming it was over as he pumpired head first to his long, torturous death He waited for the pain to come, but when it didn't come, he opened his eyes and looked up see that the rope was being held by Pidgin Pete who was being held up by a rope. This rope was being held by Slash just in case Pete wouldn't be able to hoist the freckled ninja up by himself. Together, they quickly pulled a relieved, grateful Mikey up to safety and Slash cut him free from his bindings.

"Woo! Thanks, guys." Mikey said standing up

"Don't mention it." Slash replied coldly "This battle's just getting started." he added as he picked up his mace and turned to an enraged Rat King

"Agreed." announced Leo as a much calmer Leatherhead broke him free of his chains and and he pulled out his katana "Let's end this right here, Falco. Once and for all!" he challenged the monster leaping down to the floor ground.

"Very well." he turned his head to the blue masked leader "But if you want to fight me," he raised hand and snapped his fingers "you'll have to catch me." with that, the Rat King jumped down into an escape hole and over a dozen more giant rats came to attack the intruders.

"He's getting away! Mikey, Casey, Pete, you guys come with me!" shouted Leo

"We'll handle these over grown pest here, you guys get Falco!" said Raphael preparing his sais for battle. The eldest brother simply nodded as the four mentioned team members leaped down the hole after the Rat King. At the bottom of the hole, the four misfits looked around to see that there were four different that their target could have gone down.

"Aw man! Now what, dudes!?" panicked Mikey with his hands over his head "We'll never catch him now!"

"Calm down, Mikey." Leo said turning to his youngest brother "Everyone, have your phones on standby, pick a path, and be careful. We have to be ready for any surprises he's got for us." he commanded quickly

"Yes, Sir!" saluted Pete

"You got it." said Casey as the four each parted down different directions. After a few minutes of sprinting through the dimly lit sewers. The eldest turtle stopped in a small opened room with a rusted sign saying **'Caution. Unstable Ceiling!** 'However, Leo was so frustrated and focused on his mission, that it never caught his blue, vengeful eyes.

"Rat King!" he shouted as his voice left an echo throughout the entire sewage drain. "I know you're in here somewhere! Come out and fight me, you freak!" he called. After a moment of silence, Leo picked up his phone and called the rest of the team "Any sign of him, team?" he asked

All their answers were the same "Nope"

"(pant) (pant) Me, Slash, and Leatherhead just took out the last of those rats." this new voice belonged to none other than Raphael.

"You guys okay, bro?" asked a concerned Mikey

"We barely made it by the scales of our skin, little brother, but we're fine." he replied

"Listen, we're on our way down now to help you guys search. We'll catch that wuss no matter how long it takes" he said with growl "Agreed" added Leo "keep searching, team, we can't let him- OH!" he was interrupted by a sudden blow to the head that knocked him to the ground. The ambushed leader quickly looked up from where he laid and looked for his phone. Just before he could reach for his T-phone, a rusted kunai flew at it like a dart and scattered it. Then Leonardo, turned onto his back to see the monster who attacked his father standing above him from the shadows

With a sinister, terrifying voice, he spoke with simple words "At last, Leonardo, we're alone."

 **(TO BE CONTINUED)**

 **OK I'm so sorry to leave off on such a cliffhanger, but I didn't want to make this chapter too long such it's only the middle of the story. I'm also sorry that this chapter moved along so slowly, but I'm trying to practice pacing. Also, due to the long wait, I wanted to get this chapter out to you guys ASAP. I've been sooooooo busy it's not funny. It's not stressful, but I don't get a to of time to write. Hopefully, this'll be out by the end of month because I do want to continue my current Monkey Team story 'Maura', while it's still fresh in my head. Alright, please stay tuned for my other stories, keep reading, happy Summer, God bless**

 ** _I DO NOT OWN TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES_**


	6. The Battle Part 2

**Welcome back everyone. I kind of cut this one short to save time and to give you guys more story. Anyway, if you want to see more from me, check out my Devinatart page, EmeraldoftheOcean.**

 _ **(I DO NOT OWN TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES)**_

After shaking off a serious blow to his head, the blue masked ninja quickly stood up into a battle stance and reached for his katanas, only to find that one of his twin blades was missing.

"Hm hm hm... I was hoping you'd be the one to pick the right path." he announced. That was when Leo noticed the villain's shoulders; a seeing eye rodent on his right and his missing sword on his left.

"What makes me so special?" he growled looking up at him.

The Rat King had a waves of a few dozen little rats elevate him from his ledge to Leo's ground level and explained "Simple. I'd like to take out you and your brothers one by one, starting with you." he replied pointing a sword at Leo who copied his movements as the two blood hungry enemies began to circle each other waiting for the battle to commence. "I now understand that if I am to truly free Splinter, I must destroy you meddlesome freaks myself"

" _Free_ him?!" this provoked even more anger within the eldest of the Hamato brothers "All you want is to enslave him! You're nothing but his enemy!" Falco chucked mockingly "Now how would he know that when he can't even remember me?"

Falco chucked mockingly "Now how would he know that when he can't even remember me?" That was the last straw. With a wild battle cry, Leo charged at the monster who hunted his sensei. The Rat King, however, remained unmoved. Leo launched the first attacked as the two swords clashed together multiple times. When that failed, the cold blooded ninja flipped into the air to bash his opponent over the head of foe to strike from above. The Rat King countered by catching the blade in his palms. He then tossed Leo up into the air and kneed him in the chin and kicked him in side so hard that it sent it sent him flying into the wall.  
With a painful grunt, Leo stood up and raced for his next attack. However, the Rat King moved with unrealistic speed and sweep kicked the young warrior, knocking him onto his carapace. Leo reached for his sword, but the lifeless telepath kneeled over him and began to beat him with his bare hands for half a minutes. Leo soon enough kicked his foe off of him and stood up panting.

"Losing your energy, boy?" the twisted villain taunted as Leo simply prepared for defense "Tell me, does this attack feel familiar to you?" before Leo could react, the Rat King struck him with a dozen rapid kicks at once, and fronted flipped over the flinching turtle, grabbed his shoulders and threw him face down into the unforgiving concrete of the sewer  
Leo was barely able to rise up to his hands but suddenly realized something about that last attack "Wait a minute," he said under his breath "that looked like-"

"Something Splinter taught you?" he startled Leo with a whisper in Leo's 'ear' The Rat King kicked Leo again, this time launching him into the middle of the room. With a little fight still left in him, the beaten teen rose to his feet.

"You fool!" the villain exclaimed "Dis you truly expect this to be so simple?!" he rhetorically asked over Leo's panting as he approached him slowly to prolong his suffering. "I read through the memories, the life of the rat who raised you, trained you, I've been his entire life's experience in a matter of seconds. I may even know everything about you" he chuckled. Leo reached to punched but Falco, with no effort, grabbed him by his throat "I know every move you can make" he grinned sucker punching Leo so hard, it gave him a black eye and sent him another fifteen feet from his attacker.

"(Cough, cough)" Leo finally spoke up in constant pants and covered his throbbing eye "If you know everything about Splinter, you should know that he's happy where he is"

"Is he?" the Rat King suddenly just stood still facing the blue masked warrior and looked him in the eye. "Let's think about this, Leonardo. What's happened to your dearest master over the past twenty years or so?" he asked semi-mellow dramatically "His presumed brother betrayed him, murdered his wife, raised his own daughter into his predator, mutated said daughter and blamed _him_ for all of this happening. Now he has four sons that he forced himself to raise in isolation, barely providing for himself, wasting all his energy on raising four mutate brats. On top of that, he's always living in fear and despair over the memories of his past and what might become of you in the future. With the alternate memories I've created for him, he'll be free of all those mental scars. He'll be safe with me, and not even Saki will be able to harm him. You believe I'm going to harm Splinter, but why would I harm my second-in command? So allow me to ask you again. Where would he _truly_ be happy?"

Leo froze in his thought. He knew, he witnessed the dreadful events of Master Splinter had endured in the past 16 years. What if Falco was right? Why should Splinter even bother raising him and his brother? Would Splinter truly have a more bliss life with ignorance?

Choosing to take advantage of Leo's pause, the menacing villain snapped his fingers and hundreds of rats came swarming in from all directions. The hypnotized rodents buried Leonardo's battered body under their living tidel wave and their combined weight was enough to restrain him with his arms and legs pulled apart, leaving him completely vulnerable.

"Just let me finish you, welch. You know this is what's best for Splinter." he walked through path of his rat minions and rose his sword above the struggling turtle. "It's over." just before he could launch the final blow, five smoke bombs were pelted into the rats the constricted Leo and an explosive punk struck the Rat King over the head, knocking him to the ground. He turned around and gasped at the sight of the rest of Leo's team standing above them.

"Oh, it's over alright." Slash spoke with a smirk on his face

"But not for Leo" said an upset Raphael raising his sais for attack. This gave Leo the opportunity to escape as he just found enough strength to jump up to the ledge as Leatherhead jumped him up. Just then, the battered warrior passed out from mere exhaustion

"LH, take care of him" said Mikey as he patted Leo lovingly over the head. The giant alligator simply nodded and rushed off to take Leo to safety

The Rat King was frustrated by the fact that his alone time with the injured reptile was over "(growl) Fine." he said bluntly "I'll just take you all out here!" he announced as the odd cast of heroes charged him. Just then, many his giant mutated rats returned and attacked the team. While Mikey, Raph and Slash defended themselves, Casey leaped onto Pigeon Pete's back and they charged at the Rat King jousting style. Still possessing Leo's katana, the villain cut clear through the vigilante's hockey stick, but that wouldn't stop Pete. The mutated bird violently landed on his back and pecked him over the head and neck without relent.

"Feel my peck fury, you beast!" shouted Pete as he continued pecking.

"Ah! Ahhh! Get off of me, you freak!" he commanded. The second he pushed off Pete, he was greeted by Casey who slammed him the gut with his wooden bat."

"Ha! You may know everything the turtles can do," Pete taunted

"But you don't know squat about us!" grunted Casey as he hit the Rat King so hard, that Leo's sword flew out of his hands and was jabbed into the ceiling. Suddenly, the room started to crumble and the ceiling began to collapse.

"HEY, GUYS! THIS PLACE IS COMING DOWN!" exclaimed Casey Jones in a panic

"RUN!" shouted Raph. Everyone rushed at top speed towards the exit. The entire team made it to safety, but the Rat King was not so lucky. Once the collapsing settled down, the five teammates turned around to see that the entire drainage area was completely caved in.

"(Pant), (pant) Is everyone okay?" announced the hulking turtle as he started a head count for everyone.

"Yeah" the remaining four replied. Just then, something caught the human boy's eye.

"Guys, look." he pointed to the floor in minor terror. Pouring out like a leak from the rubble was blood. Red hot blood. The boys simply gazed upon the puddle in horror as the blood pond only grew more and more.

"(gulp) I-is that... his?" the youngest of the turtles couldn't bear to finish his sentence. Before anyone could respond, they notice something by their feet. The surviving rats were running from them in fear, like regular.

Slash put two and two together "The rats." he said simply "They're free"

After watching the rats run away, the red masked ninja gave the blood pool one last unforgiving glare "We did it. He's gone" he confirmed with an unidentifiable tone. Was it joy for his sensei's safety, or guilt at their first official murder? Even Raphael himself would never know. The team walked away from the battle zone in silence at first, but then Raph gasped with a memory "LEO!" he ran ahead of everybody as the panicked reptile began to call Leatherhead in order to find them.

"LEATHERHEAD!" Slash called

"Buddy?!" Mikey and Pigeon Pete called simultaneously

"Where are you, Gator Dude?" cried Casey Jones. Just then, a monstrous shadow appeared from one of the drainage pipes to reveal the alligator in question holding an injured Leonardo in his arms like a child.

"Leatherhead!" Michelangelo ran to his friend and hugged his arm out of relief. "How's Leo?" he asked hastily as the rest of the team gathered around the sleeping eldest of the turtles.

"He has suffered several bruises, a very swollen black eye, and broken wrist. All that aside, it's nothing more exhaustion. He'll be more than able to make a full recovery with plenty of rest." he explained. With that said, everyone sighed in relief

"Thank goodness." exclaimed Pete as Raphael approached his brother in sympathy.

"Hang on, Leo. We'll get you home soon." he whispered rubbing his head to comfort his pain. With the oldest brother out of commission, the hot head knew he had to take charge of the youngest ninja. "(sigh) Mikey, call Donnie and-"

"On it" he stopped him as the orange masked ninja listened to his phone ringing, waiting for his older brother to respond

 **(THE TURTLE'S LAIR)**

Donnie, Dr. Rockwell and April were still in the dojo, when all of a sudden, (RING, RING) Donatello pulled his phone out of his belt and gasped under his breath. "Um, excuse me, Splinter, I need to take this." he said standing up

"Oh. Go ahead" he simply replied. The intelligent warrior walked into the living room, stood by the couch and answered his T-Phone.

"Mikey?"

"D! How's Sensei?" his little brother asked with anxiety

"He's upset and confused, but he's trying to regain his memories. How's the mission?"

"Alright, good news first; We did it, Bro, the Rat King's gone!" he exclaimed

"You did it?!" gasped Donnie "Are you sure he's gone?!"

"(Sigh) Yeah, we're sure." The blue eyed turtle replied with semi-despair in his voice

"You alright, Mikey?" Donnie asked his little brother

"Well, that's the bad news. Leo got hurt during the battle, he's out cold."

"What?!" Donnie was launched into doctor mode "Is he alright?"

"Leatherhead said he will be" replied Mikey resulting in a sigh of relief. "Listen, Don, We're on our way back to the lair. Can you take care of Leo when we get back?"

"Of course," he said with a tone that indicated 'that was obvious' "but, first I've got to take care of Master Splinter. Just be home ASAP so I can treat Leo wounds, alright?"

"You got it, bro. See you soon." with that, Mikey hung up the phone. The purple-masked ninja stared into his hands for a second. The fear of losing Splinter was still very fresh in his mind. After a deep breath, he walked into his lab, dug through his medical drawers and found a tranquilizer needle to put Sensei to sleep. He took another calming breath, hid the needle in his belt, and made his way back into the dojo. He didn't want to lie to his father, but trying to begin explain telepathy to him in his condition would be much more overwhelming to understand.

"M-Master Splinter?" he announced as he reentered the dojo. "We, um, we've got the medicine that'll help restore your memories."

"You do?!" he sounded like a excited child. Rockwell and April glared at the brown eyed turtle and he very subtly nodded to the two telepaths, implying that it was time for their side of the mission.

"Uh-huh." he said as he pulled out the needle "This shot'll put you to sleep for a couple of hours, and by the time you wake up, you're going to have all your memories back." he quickly explained

"The only thing that you won't be able to remember is everything that happened while you had amnesia." Dr. Rockwell added "Is all of that clear?"

"I understand." the now much calmer Splinter replied as he turned back to face Donnie "I would like begin the process immediately, if that's alright." he asked as he rolled up his right sleeve.

"Of course." the third youngest turtle nodded. The red head stood up and lead him to his futon.

"Just relax, Master Splinter." she softly smiled at him "We'll be right here watching you. You've got nothing to worry about. Just close your eyes and take a deep breath. You'll be back to your old self before you know it" she rubbed his palms to help sooth his nerves.

As Donatello kneeled next to the futon, the old rat spoke with a deep exhale "Thank you. I'd like to thank you three for aiding me such a troubling times." Splinter quickly flinched as he felt the needle be injected into his arm. Just as Splinter could feel the tranquilizer kick in, he realized something he wanted to say. "Donovan?"

"Donatello" he corrected

"Sorry. Thank you for caring about me so much. I am in your debt." he said with a smile

The bright young turtle fought off his tears and held them in to reply, "D-don't be silly, Sensei. You're my father. (sniff) I-I love you"

"And I hope I will love again, child. Soon enough." with those simple words, he was finally asleep.

Donnie froze at the sound of Splinter's last words. His tears were very close to breaking free. His breathing was heavy and loud enough for both April and Rockwell to hear him, and the mutated primate wasn't even facing the troubled inventor.

The female ninja couldn't stand the silence anymore and tried to break it with words of sympathy "Donnie-"

"Are you guys ready to start?" he asked bluntly as he quickly wiped the tears from his dark brown eyes

The monkey genius could tell Donnie didn't want to be consoled at the moment so he played along "Oh! Um, yes. We should begin the memory recovery immediately. Are you sure you're prepared for this, child?" he asked turning to the yellow shirt female.

"Let's do this." she smirked cracking her knuckles together. Seeing the determination in best friend's crystal blue eyes, the tallest turtle gave her a simple smile of hope. He stepped over to the end of the futon and, with hesitance, removed the telepathy shield while April held the sleeping rodent's head up

"Alright, guys, do your thing." he permitted as he stepped back to give them some space.

With a subtle nod and glare to each other, the two telepathy approached Master Splinter silently. Rockwell to his left in lotus position, while April say to his right kneeling next to him. They both place their hands on Splinter's temples, closed their eyes, and within seconds, their eyes shot open glowing with a powerful radiant dark purple.

 **(TO BE CONTINUED)**

 **Ok so sorry to end it here but this chapter was getting way too long. All I can now is _I do not own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,_ and what were your honest thoughts?**


	7. Chapter 7

**(PLEASE READ THE BOLD)**  
 **On my Deviantart account, I designed 2 brief backgrounds and foregrounds of what Splinter's mind should look like and another based what it currently looks like due to the Rat King's attack. I've stated this before, but my Deviantart account is** ** _EmeraldOfTheOcean_ and take a look at them (Fanfiction does not allow anyone to post link). **

**Also another thing. I'm not the best visionary, so the mind in this story is going to like Inside Out fused with Gravity Falls.** **Fanfiction liberties, you know. Anyway, tell me how I do with descriptions and pacing. I now see how sloppy they were when I started writing so I hope these scenes don't drag. Now on with the story**

 _ **I DO NOT OWN TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES**_

 **(MASTER SPLINTER'S MIND)**

 _Now that they were safe to begin their mission, April and Rockwell transported themselves into the mind of the amnesiac rodent. Once they realized where they were , they were greeted to some very unpleasant images; the void was mixed with a gray and white colored sky. Floating all around was colored orb used to represent Master Splinter's memories, and each of the trillions of memories were cracked and lifeless when they should be energized and glowing with life. Rockwell kept a serious and calm expression as they walked through endless halls and cracked ground under their feet. The young ninja on the other gazed upon the broken internal universe in disturbed awe. She was so lost in a trance of disbelief, that the red haired stood frozen in her place. This caught the primate's eye as he turned to see her detracted and called her out of her daze "April?"_

 _"Hmm?" she blinked and looked straight him with a confused stare_

 _"Come along" he motioned her to come forward_

 _"Oh. Sorry." the red head rushed to his side as they resumed their discussion "I... I just can't believe that this, this place is Master Splinter's mind" she spoke in breathless shock "You shouldn't be" he mentioned with a mature speaking tone "This is what happens to the void of memories when one obtains amnesia." the mutant genius explained "You have been in another person's mind before, correct?" he questioned "Oh, yeah, but only a few times with the turtles. This, though, is this really what a damaged mind looks like?"_

 _"(sigh) I'm afraid so my dear." he replied as they sat down to allow themselves to take in such a dark scene, "This mental wasteland that we're roaming is the result of Falco's attack. A simple illusion based on how an amnesiac viewed their surroundings; unsettling, confusing, and unknown. We_ are, _however, quite_ _fortunate that it's not a more serious condition. Now, before we begin, explain to me what you understand about your telepathic powers." he suggested so he could better understand how experience his_ _unofficial pupil has._

 _"Well, I know that right now, we're standing in a hall with doors that each have endless walls and paths of Sensei's memory. Even the tiniest details get recorded and some memories are stronger than others." she explained gesturing towards the loose memories "Each of these colors represent different emotions, Joy, fear, anger, sadness, and disgust."_

 _"Stunning." he praised her for her knowledge of such a complex power "I'm very impressed you understand so much about telepathy."_

 _"Ha. Don't be. I mean, I've been in dreams, I've read minds and even seen other people's memories, but nothing like these orbs " she finished in_ _embarrassed modesty._

 _"That's perfectly fine, April." the telepathic monkey soothed her doubts "It's a lot of work, but curing amnesia should be simple enough for someone of your level." he added as they both stood up with determined grins "Now, let's begin the recovery process, shall we?"_

 _The red head simply nodded "Let's do this" with that, the duo flew up into the void and levitated next to the cracked memory orbs. Then, the blue eyed girl exclaimed, "Woo! Okay, where do we start?" she asked turning to Rockwell_

 _"We'll start with teaching you how to restore the memories and how to return them to their rightful place." the intelligent simian explained. He then picked two random orbs out of the airs examples, one being yellow and the other being green. "You see the large crack splitting down the memories' centers?" he asked holding both of them close to her_

 _"Yeah." April nodded_

 _"This crack could happen for a variety of reasons, but for whatever the cause, it renders the content within it utterly disabled. Hence the amnesia. You and I must focus our mental energy into the memory in order to restore its power." he explained as he handed the teen the memory of disgust "Now, watch what I do, my dear. This is a serious process." he commanded. The memory floated over Rockwell's hand. He closed his eyes as the memory began to glow a bright shade of yellow. After a few seconds, the crack was gone and the memory was glowing with energy once more._

 _April gasped in fascination "Whoa! That's awesome. Can I see that memory?" she asked reaching for it slowly_

 _"Of course" Rockwell replied with a smile "but quickly, it has to return to its rightful door." he said as the red head female stared into the memory as it played out a small scene. It was one of a infant Donatello walking on his own two feet, struggling to but moving quickly. Then he fell into Master Splinter's arms as the happy father lifted his child into air full of glee and kissed the giggling turtle on the forehead._

 _"Awww.." she blushed "That is so-(gasp)" she was interrupted when it suddenly launched out of her hands and flew at top speed into one of the enormous doors that served as vaults for the memories "Uh, is that normal?" she asked slightly startled as she pointed in the direction of the yellow door_

 _"Yes, that's supposed to occur" Rockwell replied "Now that's the memory's repaired, Splinter will able to recall when it's needed again." with that explanation, the primate handed the girl the green memory again so she can try it for herself "Now, I want you to attempt this." he requested while April stared into the memory with doubt._

 _"I-I don't know, Rockwell. Aren't these delicate when they're cracked?" she rhetorically asked looking up at him "What if I damage it?"_

 _"That's why we're starting with a much less important one." he said calmly "_ _This memory is nothing more from when he had bad tea. A perfect specimen to start with, but you're talented enough to pull it off" he told her. He approached her, lightly lifted her hands and memories, and guided her through the process as if he were a professional teacher "I want to to close your eyes" he ordered as the red head nodded and obeyed her instructor "Now focus your mental energy into the memory. Feel the pain within the crack and console it." the simian directed. With a slow in and exhale, April repaired the memory and it flew back to where it belonged_

 _"(Gasp) I did it!" she announced in excitement "I did it! Huh, that was much easier than I thought." she smiled and turned around to Rockwell in confidence_

 _"Indeed." he nodded in encouragement, "Now let's start with the rest of them."_

 _The young lady's smile quickly faded as she looked around at the endless waves of memories scattered around and above them. "Are you_ KIDDING _me?!" she whined in panic "How are just the two of us supposed to fix ALL of these things by ourselves?!"_

 _Rockwell simply chuckled, anticipating April would have that reaction. "My dear, we are telepaths within the mind." he rose both arms "The two of us is beyond plenty." to demonstrate his implication, the genius monkey closed his eyes and lifted one arm above his head. As he did this, dozens of cracked memories swirled around him, creating a large, whirling ring that quickly spun in a large as if Rockwell was summoning them via with a deep exhale, dozens of colorful rays shot out of Rockwell and nearly a hundred memories where healed and returned to their proper place. April's jaw went down in complete wonder at how amazingly fast Rockwell fixed so many memories at once._

 _"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed like a fangirl as she floated even closer to the telepathic monkey "That was incredible!"_

 _"Yes, now if we repeat that routine, it'll still take a while, but it certainly won't take half as long as doing them one by one" he gestured towards the rest of the memories_

 _April smiled "Huh, maybe this won't be so- LOOK OUT!" out of nowhere, the red-head screamed and pushed Rockwell closer to the ground as they a dozen fast arrows being fired at them._

 _The confused scientist looked up to see that those arrows had pierced into a sadness memory. "What on-"_

 _"WHOA!" April brought them to the floor and brought a clear, medieval shaped shield that protected them from the impact of fireballs. As frightening as this surprise occurrence was, Dr. Rockwell couldn't help but be impressed at the young lady's cat-like reflexes under pressure. All of her lessons under the old rodent's teachings were evidently paying off._

 _"Rockwell, what the heck's going on!?" she turned to him, bringing the shield down_

 _All the monkey could do was stammer "I-I can't imagine. I've never any mental threats like this."_

 _"Well, what's_ this?" _she finally asked the question of what in the world was attacking them._

 _The smart simian put a hand on his chin while April watched his back "Hmm, the only thing I know that could've caused this is-"_

 _"Another telepath?" came an unknown voice_

 _Suddenly, a powerful force pulled them to the ground by their wrists. Next thing they knew, they were restrained by their chests and wrists to the cracked ground with rusted, heavy chains, forcing them to their knees. They looked to each other in panic and looked up to see what had captured them, and their jaws dropped in terror "No..."_

 _"It's been a long time, Tyler."_

 **(TO BE CONTINUED)**

 **Ummmm ok.**

 **sorry for the ending, but with summer ending, I had to get this out quick. The next thing I post will hopefully be Maura. Remember, my Deviantart page is EmeraldOfTheOcean. You can learn a lot more about me from there.**


	8. Too Much in Mind

Sorry, SO very sorry for the wait on this one, crazy writer's block with this story, but it is good to be back into after so long of having no ideas for it. Hopefully you guys like it, and are having fun with it.

ON WITH CHAPTER 8

 **(MASTER SPLINTER'S MIND)**

 **The telepathic due froze in shock over the figure that appeared them. It was the absolute worst case scenario that the Hamato Clan and friends had worked so hard to avoid; the Rat King was now in the mind of the amnesiac Master Splinter. On top of that, they've both been captured by the monster who the turtles claimed was dead.**

 **As Rockwell and April tried to stand up from their chains, the simian growled, "Falco."**

 **"Long time no see, old friend." the Rat King snirred as he stepped over to the two of them in an intimidating matter "It's good to know you've been practicing with your telepathic powers. he placed two fingers on Rockwell's chin like a parent forcing a stubborn child to give them eye contact "You always were rather resourceful, if memory serves." then with a chucked, he stood over a finished his statement, "No pun intended."**

 **Rockwell had just about enough, and savagely reached to bite his enemy's hand, "Don't you _dare_ approach me like you're my superior!" the mutant monkey exclaimed in anger. While Rockwell was enraged by the Rat King's presence, the red headed female was terrified. Master Splinter was still without memory and the culprit to his amnesia was now roaming free in Master Splinter's vulnerable psyche. What did this mean for her sensei? What did this mean for the father of her closest friends? **

**She stammered out the question that was on both of her mind and Rockwell's "No... no, you can't be alive. I overhead Mikey tell Donnie you were dead! They were sure of it!" that was when the zombie like foe turned his attention of the young teenager. He chuckled at her** **naive nature and explained her "misunderstanding"**

 **"You human welches shouldn't underestimate my species." he replied as he turned his back to his hostages "Once the allies of those pathetic turtles arrived, my entire plan began to crumble within my grasp." he crushed his repulsively long nails into bony palms. "but like the rest of my rodent brethren, I saw an opportunity to retreat and I took it. When the room began** **to collapse above us, those foolish monsters took their eyes off me to save themselves. That's when I improvised my escape;" he paused for a brief moment and continued with sorrowful tone "I had to sacrifice dozens of my minions to shield me from the concrete's impact." he turned backed around to them to meet shocked expressions "Then I released the surviving rats from my telepathic control so they'd think I've passed on, and wait until Splinter literally let his guard down."**

 **"Playing possum? That's what you've resorted to at this point?!" Rockwell asked pulling on his mental chains to no avail .**

 **The Rat King stared down at former partner with a victorious expression through his deformed, dead skinned face. "Say what you want about my "dishonorable" deceptions, it got me where I wanted, didn't it?" he gleefully held his arms out to brag about his so-called victory**

 **Suddenly, the red-head** **kunoichi** **silently gasped to herself with an idea. She looked down at the transparent chains thinking of her plan, and began to execute her plan by keeping her captor talking, "W...what makes you so sure you've won?" she asked quickly. "We're still here, and we'll never let you corrupt Splinter's mind." she exclaimed**

 **The Rat King paused before replied to her embarrassing claims . With a condescending tone of voice, he began monologging as he paced the floor in front of them"Why haven't I won? Splinter's mind is an empty for me to paint in an entirely new image, and my only two obstacles are sitting before like sheep waiting to be slaughtered." he stopped acing as he formed a long, sharp, bladed katana into his hands and gently placed the blade over April's right shoulder, facing away from Rockwell "Speaking of** **slaughter,** **" he showed a menacing, toothy, blood lusting grin at the sight of April's panic**

 **Dr. Rockwell held his breath in fear. If April's mental form was harmed by another telepathic, then there'd be no** **conscious mind to return to the young lady's** **physical body. The only pupil he was ever trusted with would be destroyed forever. With a shuttering gulp, the mutant simian attempted to beg for her life, "Falco..., I swear if you hurt her,..." he tried to express intimidating rage, but it came out as pitiful fear for his friend**

 **"You'll what?" the Rat King smugly asked, tapping the blade on April's skin "Kill me?" he lifted the blade off of the red head's shoulder and took aim for her throat "I'd like to see you try." he rose the sword over his head and prepared for a clean swipe at her vulnerable, thin little neck "After I murder this welsh!" he swung the sword at top speed towards April.**

 **Rockwell shouted in horror, unable to break free "NOOOOOOOO!", but that shout proved to be unnecessary**

 **With a light grin, April screamed in rage, bringing her powers into full capacity. At just the right movement, she summoned a large, thin, shard like shield to rise from the cracked ground floor and blocked the sword. Almost like a trampoline, the impact of his arm over that hard surface repelled him back and sent him sliding ten feet away from the two heroes. As for his swords, it was launched** **ninety degrees in the air, just as the young warrior intended. Using her weak** **telekinesis, she barely overcame the strength of the chain's binds to take control of the sword and forced it to land directly on her chains, freeing her from its bindings. While holding the blade in her hand, she gave a shocked Dr Rockwell a "all part of the plan" smile as she slashed his mental chains open as well**

 **As relieved as he was to be free, he turned to April and strictly said, "I'd prefer it if you never take such a risk again." he said as the young telepath stood her teacher up.**

 **"Ha, sorry," she grinned as she turned to the Rat King, lying on his back "Like someone once said," she said mockingly "If it gets the results you want, it works.** **" she twisted the Rat King's own taunts against him as the villain stood up in a battle stance.**

 **(REALITY)**

Meanwhile in the physical world, Donatello was waiting for the A team to return with his injured older brother. As he somberly waited for them to come back, the purple masked ninja stood with his shoulder leaning on the wall of the dojo, his arms crossed as he stared thoughtfully at the frozen telepaths. He wanted something to do for his sensei, but what else could he do at this point? Granted, he had his own mental powers, as Michelangelo put it, but they weren't the sort of powers that were going to restore Master Splinter's memories. The worst part of all this was that there was no way to contact April or Rockwell during their mission, their bodies were just paralyzed in place while their minds were having their own little adventure inside his father's mind. The one thing that was bothering the genius turtle the most was himself. Why did he act and feel this way while staying with Master Splinter? Just listening to Master Splinter's break down about not remembering his own life felt more like suffering to watch than a _Space Heroes_ marathon

"but why?" Donnie asked himself out loud. "You're the logical one, Donatello, so why are you acting like Sensei's gone when he was standing right in front of you?" he paced the floor, speaking to himself in the third person. When pacing the floor didn't ease his troubles, he decided to kneel down next to his Sensei, internally hoping he could hear his son's pleas "I always understand something when I overthink it, but I don't even know how I started fearing like you were gone forever." he said to Splinter, despite knowing that no reply was coming anytime soon. "I tried to reach your memories when I hugged you, but I knew that wouldn't do anything." the purple warrior stood up and paced around again "So why did I get emotional when I was expecting you do be so confused?" these emotions were driving the intelligent reptile insane. Of course it would hurt to see his role model and guardian in such a child like state of mind, but how could it hurt so much if he expected that child like behavior? His brothers all seemed totally focused on stopping the Rat King when they left. They seemed very confident that Master Splinter was going to be okay, but why wasn't Donnie?

His time for thinking was up when he heard the stomping of a large footprint enter the lair. Out of impulse, he turned to face the door with his trusty bo-staff facing the dojo's entrance. He was ready for a fight, but that wasn't what he got.

"Donnie?!" a young voice called out, Mikey's voice. With a light gasp, he quickly placed his bo back in his sash as he ran into the main room of the lair. Where he was met by Casey Jones, his brothers and the Mutanimals who all look like they just walked out of a war zone, none of them more than poor Leonardo, who was sleeping in he arms of the eight foot alligator.

"How long has he been out?" Donnie leaped towards them, immediately entering doctor mode once he saw his leader's condition first hand

"Since Mikey called you." replied Raphael as turned towards Leo's exhausted body "He's been moaning and tossing around a lot though." the second eldest brother explained as Donnie examined Leonardo in Leatherhead's arms

"We find him just in time." said the zany, molted bird in a concerned voice "We got separated while fighting the Rat King, and he was practically buried under a sea of rats when we found them." that last sentence struck a cord with Donatello, prompting him to look over Leo's wounds even faster

"Is he gonna be alright, Dude?" asked Casey Jones who was standing next to Slash, Mikey, and Pidgin Pete. "Your bro got the green beat off of him by that Rat King creepy." the freckled faced turtle was insulted on the remark about his leader and elbowed the reckless hockey lover in the chest.

After taking a moment to look over Leonardo's wounds, the young scientist had his diagnosis, "If I hurry, yes." he replied to Casey question as he motioned the caring alligator to bring the patient into his lab.

The phrase 'If I hurry,' suddenly rose quite a few red flags amongst the gang of misfits "If you hurry? What is that supposed to mean?" asked Raph as they all followed the two of them into the med bay. "Leatherhead said he'd be fine." The Mutanimal's second in command nodded to Donatello as Raphael referred to him

"Between all these wounds and being swarmed on by hundreds of diseased ridden New York sewer rats, half of his body has essentially become a doggy door for bacteria. I need to examine him for infections while I'm treating him or he could get really sick." Donnie hastily explained as he pulled out everything from his first aid box.

The hot head's jaw dropped as he looked towards Casey and Slash in panic, which the youngest turtle popped the question, "Wait, are you saying we could lose him?!" Mikey grabbed Donnie's shoulder, desperately demanding an instant response from his closest older brother.

At first, the purple masked ninja was annoyed by his little brother's actions, but quickly realized how poorly he worded Leonardo's conditions, making this additional situation seemed much worse than it was. So he turned towards Michelangelo with a caring, but swift answer "Oh, no no no no no. I'm sorry, I made this sound worse than it is. I just need ten minutes to create a vaccine that'll fight off any diseases the rats may've been carrying, and because you got him home so fast, there's no way we're gonna lose, Mikey, do you understand?" Donnie clarified for his brother, whoo exhaled in relief

"Oh good, he's gonna be fine." the blue eyed ninja reassured himself out loud. Raphael also showed some signs of relaxing after hearing Donnie confirm that his his only older brother was out of harm's way.

"Exactly," Donnie added as he rubbed his brother head with his toothy smile, "Now keep that in mind." he then turned his attention to everyone else "Thank you, guys, but if you could all give me a half hour in here, I'll have Leo feeling better by then." he said, clearly asking the six of them to exit the med-bay.

"Oh, sure."

"Take your time." they all replied as they exited the room. However, before Raph and Mikey made out the door, Slash paused directly in the doorway. Suddenly, he turned around to the genius turtle and asked "Hey, speaking of 'mind,' " he paused, waiting for Donatello to look up from wrapping Leo's wrist in bandages "How's Splinter doing?"

 _Splinter_. That was the trigger word for the most most immature turtles of the four. They were so caught up in the battle and tending to Leo's injuries, they actually forgot about their amnesia fallen father for a while. Raph and Mikey jolted over to Donnie like bullets and questioned their nerdy brother in anxiety

"Oh my gosh, Splinter!"

"Donnie, is he okay?!" they pressured for an answer once again, but that only resulted in Donnie pushing both of them away in order to regain his personal space.

"Guys, guys guys. Take it easy." he requested of them "Right now, he's under a telepathic trance by April and Rockwell. They're in his mind restoring all of his lost memories as we speak." he explained calmly as the other two boys sighed in relief once again

"Thank goodness." said the red masked reptile, wiping the sweat from his forehead "I don't think I could take anymore surprises today."

"Me neither." Mikey nodded in agreement "So, can we sit in the dojo with Splinter?" the innocent little turtle asked with puppy dog eyes

Unable to resist that sweet little face, the tallest of the brothers rolled his eyes with a smirk "Alright, but no matter what, do NOT touch his body, or April or Rockwell's, got it?" he pointed a finger at both of them to make sure they were listening to him. "If you touch of them, it could hurt all three of them very badly."

"Got it," Raph gave his brother a thumb's up as he backed out of the med bay, shoving Mikey out of his way

"Hey Raph, no fair!" shouted Mikey as the two smaller terrapins raced past the one huge one to get to the dojo. Once again, before Slash could take his leave, the intelligent young warrior had a question to ask his brother's former pet. "Hey, uh, Slash?" Donnie stopped him before he left

"Hmm?" the hulking shellback turned around at the sound of his name

Donnie started playing with his fingers, worrying that the question he was about to ask was going to be awkward or strange "You know Rockwell better than we do, being his leader, and all. Do you really think he can help Splinter, especially while teaching April to use her powers?"

Slash rose an eyebrow at the brown eyed ninja in an interesting way. What a strange question, but understandable, considering who's getting the telepathic treatment. Don't worry about Splinter, Donatello. When it comes to telepathy, Doc is the best in the business. Just focus on Leonardo for now so both these problems can be " he said surprisingly with a reassuring tone to Donatello. Now, to Donnie, it was no wonder Slash was leader of Mighty Mutanimals, his ability to give helpful advice was on par with Leonardo's "Trust me kid, now that the Rat King's gone, it's gonna be smooth sailing from here on out"

 **(TO BE CONTINUED)**

 **I DO NOT OWN TMNT**

 **Please review and let me know if this chapter was wroth the wait**


	9. An Ear to Listen and a Shoulder to Hold

Fifteen minutes after the A team returned from their mission, the three Mutanimals and Casey were sitting in the living room, waiting for Donatello to finish mending Leo's wounds. Slash and Leatherhead were having a quiet conversation to themselves while Pete and Casey were butting heads at the pinball table. Suddenly, the door to the lab was opened and he exited with a straight back.

This caught the eye of Raph's former pet who drew attention to the purple clad turtle. "Donatello." this caused the rest of the team to turn in Donnie's direction "How's Leonardo?"

"Nothing too serious once I gave him those antibiotics." he sighed "He'll be asleep for a little while though." He explained with a somewhat depressed tone that he'd failed to hide

"That's certainly relieving. Rest should put his mind at ease after all this chaos." replied Leatherhead with a grin and gingerly voice

"How I envy him." Donnie added, folding his arms and leaning on the side of the door, staring at the floor.

After hearing that remark, the four misfits looked to each other in concern. Slash had mentioned that something felt a little off with the young genius, but hopefully it wasn't very serious.

Attempting to be sensitive, Casey suggested something, "Listen, D, Leo ain't going anywhere. Why don't you chill with Ralph and Mikey? We'll watch your older bro?" he explained as he pointed a thumb behind his back towards the dojo.

Donnie peeked his head up with puppy eyes "Really?" he asked with a strange glimmer of hope

"You don't have to ask, buddie." replied Pigeon Pete "Go ahead. We'll stay out here."

With that, Donnie gave the four of them a quick nod and ran into the dojo to meet his younger and second oldest brother. When he got there, it was oddly quiet considering the two who were left alone. Raph was sitting next to April's frozen body with his back leaning against the wall, while Mikey on the other side of the room, innocently balancing a ninja star on his nose.

"H-hey guys." the gap toothed ninja waved, announcing his presence.

Both of them sat up and widened their eyes in surprise "Donnie." they unintentionally said in unison. While the hothead stayed in his place, the youngest reptile stood up and gave his brother a hug

"How's Leo?" he asked hastily

Donnie chuckled his little brother's innocence and concern "He's sleeping the pain off. He'll be awake in a little while." the green scientist explained, and was met with a sigh of relief from his two remaining brothers. "Yeah, I wanted to sit in here with Sensei, I'm gonna join you in here."

This caused a sudden gasp from the blue eyed ninja, "Wait, you just left our guest alone?!" he exclaimed rhetorically "That is so rude, D!"

"Take it easy, Mike." replied Raphael in a calmer tone "They're big boys, they can handle sitting in a living room without a babysitter."

"Yeah, but still, dudes, I feel bad." Mikey added with a frown. However, his frown quickly transformed into a smile with an idea "Tell you what; we're all probably hungry after that battle, so how about I make everyone a pizza?"

Raph and Donnie hesitated for a moment, but shrugged it off and agreed to it

"If it makes you feel brother, bro." Raph said with little care "Go ahead."

"Alright! I'll be in the kitchen." Donnie hid his laughter as Michelangelo rushed out of the dojo. Odds are he was probably doing all this distract himself from their current situation. Again, the overthinking turtle was jealous that one of his brothers has been blessed with something else focus on. With a deep breath, he walked over to his hotheaded older sibling and stood over him

"Um, do you mind if I sit next to you?" he asked with a somewhat awkward tone.

Raphael turned his eyes the other way for a moment and shrugged his shoulders "What's stopping ya?" he asked shrugging his shoulder once again. How peculiar for his intelligent brother to request the right to sit next to him after the day they've had.

With that, the young genius modestly sat next to Raphael and curled his knees up to his chest. After an awkward moment of silence, the red turtle was almost going mad with suspense. He noticed that Donnie wouldn't stop staring at Splinter's body, and their two friends entranced by their powers. The hot head was shocked to remember this, but he recognized that glow in Donnie's eyes; a gaze that display a child like fear and sadness, a childish expression in his mahogany pupils that rivaled Michelangelo's baby blue ones. There just one time Raphael could remember his intelligent little exposing those eyes; when they were eight and the second oldest turtle was struck with Pneumonia and his recovery chances were quite slim. Little Donnie stared into Raph's blood ridden dead ones.

" _Why is he so afraid though?_ " the red cladded warrior quarreled in his head. What on earth could have his little brother so apparently troubled right now? They defeated the Rat King, Splinter's recovering, and Leo's going to alright, what's on his mind?

"Hey, Don," Raph announced to catch Donnie's attention. The genius blinked as he looked his older brother in the face "What's eating ya?" he asked curiously

Donnie was silent for a moment, wondering how to explain how he was feeling to the one brother was least likely to understand. As he turned his head back down into his lap and answered Raph's question with his own question

"Raph... were you worried about Sensei during your mission?"

The red masked turtle gave Donnie a look indicating he was staring at one crazy mutant, "What's with all the stupid questions, Bro?" he nearly laughed at how confused he was by the "smartest" ninja "Of course we were worried about him"

"I know, but.." he gulped in response, "did you have that _tiny_ little voice echoing to you 'what if Sensei doesn't get better? What if this memory loss is permanent?" he vented with a hollow tone of voice

The red masked turtle took somewhat of an offense to Donnie's last remake. Overall, however, he gave his brother a bleak stare and uncomfortably sat up from his seat "Well, Jeez, Donnie, you didn't think we could handle ol' Skeleton King by ourselves?"

"No.." the purple warrior replied, meekly shrugging his shoulders, "it's just while I- while _we_ were watching over Splinter, we tried telling him about his past life. But no matter what we told him, he was terrified and angry with himself, and I had no idea what to do." he explained as he resumed looking Raphael in the face "I actually ended up _crying_ in front of him, it just hurt so much to see him that way."

Donatello had just poured his soul out to the brother who was least likely to comprehend such emotions. Much to his surprise, the hot headed ninja did understand Donnie's point, in hindsight "...I-I guess I hadn't thought about any of that." he widened his eyes in realization "Man,.. I was so focused on taking down the Rat King, I forgot how much pain Splinter was in."

"That's my point." the purple clad ninja exclaimed as his voice began crack "I didn't have a distraction like you guys did," he stood up and paced the floor to further articulate his thoughts for how seriously they were affecting him "I had to listen to him deny ever knowing me. I had to look him in his eye; those lost, horrified eyes that replaced those loving, fiery eyes that chased every fear we had when we were younger. It's just so horrifying to see someone I hold in such high regards be so vulnerable." with that, Donnie stared Raph in the eye once he finished releasing all his raw emotions and was now fighting off tears.

The second oldest ninja was paralyzed by Donnie's monolog of emotion that just flooded against him. At first, he assumed he intelligent little brother had the easy side of the mission, but he appeared to be even more shaken up mentally than Leonardo was physically "Man, bro, I..I didn't think your end of the mission would be so draining." Raph approached the young genius in sympathy

Donnie than blushed in shame "Ah, I'm just being a wuss. I mean look at what you guys've been through." he added, gesturing over Raph's entire body "You look like you've walked in front of a war zone." he lightly chuckled

"Yeah, but if we had known how hard this would be on you, we could've left Mikey behind too."

"It's not just that, I _did_ have April and Rockwell with me, so that's not the problem." the purple turtle crossed his arms in thought

After another moment of silence, Raphael grinned gingerly, knowing exactly what his little brother needed "Listen, Bro," he said as he placed a hand over Donnie's tense shoulder "This isn't nearly the end for Master Splinter, ya got that? We won, the Rat King's gone, and April and Rockwell are taking good care of him. He's safe, and you three kept him safe."

Donatello stared into his older brother's eyes with his own reassured ones. As if he needed to find his breath, he replied ever so softly, "Wow,... Thank you, Raph," he said rubbing his eyes "I didn't realize how much I needed that." he showed off a toothy smile that he was known for.

"No problem, ya know you can always come to me when you need something off your shell." the red masked ninja added to console Donnie even further

"He, do I have wait for Leo to get knocked out for that to happen?" the young genius joked

Raphael was somewhat sadden by that last statement, but Donnie made a valid point from that simple comment "Good question." he replied as he sat back down with his knees pulled up to his chest "It's kind of funny; I used to always want to be leader, but now I'm terrified of being leader one day."

This question came out in a tone similar to Donnie's did before, but this came out of nowhere for the purple clad warrior "What are you talking about?" he asked while kneeling next to him

"It's like you said; between the farmhouse and today, I'm always the one taking Leo's place as the head of the team." he replied remorsefully "What if something really happens to Leo or what if he dies?" the second oldest brother started tensing up "I don't care about beating the crap out of bad guys if it costs me any of you guys." Raphael cover his eyes to hide the little tears forming in his emerald eyes.

Donatello dropped his jaw at what just heard. How long had his older hot headed brother been feeling like this? Why didn't he say about those emotions before? Donnie asked this he's certainly had those fears in the back of his crowded "Jeez, Raph, now look who's getting deep." he responded, sitting up next to Raph

"Oh, come on. Even with all the science mumbo jumbo, you're telling you've never thought about that?"

Donnie grinned with an idea he knew would cheer Raph up, "Well," he shrugged "I guess I've had my own distraction over that stuff."

"What?" Raphael tiled his head in curiosity

"I'm one of four awesome brothers all looking out for each other." he replied, lightly punching the hothead in the shoulder.

This caused Raphael to chuckle and relax from his previous, "We are pretty sick, aren't we?" he rhetorically asked

"Only when we've got each other." Donnie winked as the two brother fist bumped each other. It's not very often that the turtle of brain and the turtle of brawn bond and console each other in such a manner. Hopefully, this experience will have made the entire Hamato clan realize how precious family truly can be

 **(TO BE CONTINUED)**

 **Only 3 more chapters after this, that's what I'm planning to do. Please leave an honest review and** **tell me how I did in terms of dialogue and characterization**


End file.
